The much-awaited docuseries “The Last Dance” is full of unfettered access to vital moments in the Chicago Bulls' last championship run. Andy Thompson, uncle of Golden State Warriors shooting guard Klay Thompson, played a major role in getting that close to the players during that 1997-98 season.
“The germ of the idea came from Andy,” said Gregg Winik, one of the executive producers, according to USA TODAY Sports. “Andy had the relationship with Michael.”
Andy might not be as much as a household name as Klay, but his work is one many have seen through the screen. He is the vice president of content production for NBA Entertainment and he often has a camera in hand or is around one for a variety of projects.
Thompson had worked in other works, but one thing that escaped him was unraveling why Michael Jordan was so maniacally competitive. What drove him? What made him tick?
“I was always involved in the championship videos that we produced at the end of the season, and we got tight in 1992 when I was shooting the Dream Team documentary,” said Thompson. “I always felt we really never gave Michael his due in terms of following him for an entire season and really trying to uncover why this guy was so obsessed about winning and just the Beatle-mania that was always around the Bulls and Michael.”
“After the '96-97 season, there was talk they were going to be broken up, and this was probably going to be their last season. I said, ‘This is our last chance to get Michael documented for an entire year.'”
Now-commissioner Adam Silver was then a young executive as the head of NBA Entertainment, and he partnered with a family of filmmakers — the Winiks — who created NBA Entertainment; along with Ahmad Rashad and Thompson.
Part of why it took so long for this project to reach the screen was Jordan's comfort level, as he was never too excited about getting to see it bloom. Post-third-retirement Jordan was a private man, one who had chosen to live his life away from the lights that followed him throughout his illustrious career.
“I used to joke with Michael over the years about it,” said Silver. I think one of the reasons it didn’t get done over those years was because he was not all that excited about it happening. He’s remained a very private person over the years, and with a longer perspective on his career, he was able to come to terms with it.
“You see a side of Michael that everyone around the NBA was aware of. He has such a polished image, and there’s nothing in this that’s unpolished. But you see a raw Michael and how incredibly competitive he is. There’s a roughness to that and that may surprise a lot of people.”
Jordan has mentioned he had to make sacrifices to win. The Last Dance details a lot of those sacrifices and the bridges he had to burn to be considered among the greats.
Somehow, someway, Silver and Thompson were able to pull it off after consulting then-commissioner David Stern, Phil Jackson, and of course Jordan, who agreed to the plan.
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